About this collection

The flagship institution of the Sisters of Providence in the West, Providence Academy dates its foundation to 1856, when five sisters arrived at Fort Vancouver in Oregon Territory, having travelled by ship and train from Montreal at the behest of Augustin Magloire Alexandre Blanchet, bishop of what was then known as the Diocese of Nesqually. This early mission, comprised of crude frame structures, served as a school and place of refuge for orphans, the elderly, and the sick. The brick edifice which still stands in present-day Vancouver was designed by and built under the supervision of Mother Joseph of the Sacred Heart.